Categories

Tags

cooking

rwanda

pellets

cash programming

gender

Author

Allie Glinski, Kathryn Farley, Shelby Bourgault, Dieudonne Uwizeye

Organization

International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)

Description

This report assesses the social and economic impacts of a pilot project by social enterprise Inyenyeri to introduce the Mimi Moto stove and biomass fuel pellets as a cooking solution into Kigeme refugee camp, Rwanda. The project employed a market-based approach in which refugees used cash transfers to purchase pellets. Using a combination of quantitative data and informant interviews, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) explores the level of adoption among intervention households, as well as the project’s impacts on refugees’ livelihoods, time use, methods of fuel procurement, and certain health and quality of life indicators such as eye irritation, sneezing, and coughing. It also explores gender dynamics in cooking among Kigeme residents and captures the experiences of refugees who were hired as Inyenyeri customer support representatives. Overall, the report concludes that Inyenyeri’s project resulted in significant benefits for its refugee customers and employees; however, the high cost of pellets remains a significant barrier to wider adoption of Inyenyeri’s model.